Ladder



Feb. 17, 1942. s, P, McDANIELS 2,273,124

LADDER Filed Feb. 7, 1940 FIG. 3

FIG. 2 v M INVENTOR $.P. MDAN/ELS I By MW A T7URNEV Patented Feb. 17, 1942 warren sTATss Parser osrics 2,273,124 LADDER Shryock P. McDaniels, Maplewood, N. J assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 7, 1940 Serial No. 317,647

4 Claims. (Cl. 228-52) This invention relates to ladders, and more particularly to the foot structure of track guided ladders.

A common type of track guided ladder used in stores and stockrooms has rollers at the head riding on a track and rollers at the foot riding on the floor. Such ladders have been found to be hazardous at times, depending upon how they are used. For example, with the knowledge that such ladders may be moved while occupied it is a natural tendency for a person to attempt to move the ladder from one position to another while on the ladder rather than descend from the ladder each time, move it, and ascend thereon again. In moving such a ladder while occupying it a person might injure his hands, for example, between the upper roller and the track, or he might lose his balance or fall therefrom while reaching for something to grip in an attempt to move the ladder. Furthermore, a ladder of this type might be hazardous in some cases in that it tends to shift in one direction when a person throws his weight beyond the center of gravity in the opposite direction.

An object of the invention is to provide a ladder which is readily movable when not occupied and readily immovable when occupied.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises a ladder with rollers or sliding guides at the head thereof riding on a track and a slide member fixed to the foot of the ladder for easy movement of the ladder when not occupied and conditioned to render the ladder immovable when occupied.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed structure when considered in view of the accompanying drawing, wherein.

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the ladder;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of the foot structure of the ladder, and

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, numeral It! designates a ladder of any desired general structure provided, in this embodiment, with pairs of rollers II and 2 for engagement with a track Hi, the latter partially supporting the ladder, being fixed to any suitable statienary framework (not I shown). If desired, suitable sliding guides could be substituted for the rollers to movably connect the ladder to the rail.

A slide l5, which in the present instance is formed of sheet metal but which may be formed of any other suitable material, has spaced uprights [5 fixed thereto or integral therewith, these uprights being rigidly secured to the foot of the ladder by suitable means such as bolts 11. The uprights l6 extend angularly upwardly from the slide in general alignment with the ladder I0, so that the foot of the ladder may be spaced from the store or stockroom shelves, adjacent to which the ladder is disposed, and allow the central portion of the slide to be parallel with a surface such as the floor when resting thereon. Longitudinal edges l8 of the slide extend upwardly at similar angles from the central portion, to eliminate the possibility of sharp edges engaging the floor during the movement of the slide thereon. The ends l9of the slide are also bent upwardly for the same reason.

In operation the ladder is supported mainly through the rollers I I and the track l3 and when the ladder is not'occupied it may be readily moved from one position to another merely by pushing the ladder in the direction desired, causing the slide l5 to slide over the floor with little more effort than would be required should the foot of the ladder be provided with rollers. When the ladder has been located at the desired position the workman may ascend the ladder and reach for articles positioned back of the ladder or at either side thereof, and while reaching for articles at either side of the ladder the workman may throw his weight beyond the center of gravity without causing the ladder to shift as a result thereof. Furthermore, it is not possible to move the ladder while occupying it. The friction between the slide and the floor when the ladder is not occupied is slight, due to the fact that the ladder is supported mainly by the track, but this friction is greatly increased immediately upon the ladder being occupied due to the added weight of the workman, and for this reason it is impossible for the workman occupying the ladder to move the ladder or for another workman to'rnove the ladder while it is still occupied. The length of the slide, in comparison with the width of the ladder, providing portions which extend beyond the sides of the ladder, adds an additional safety feature to the structure, namely, the prevention of the ladder tilting when a workman on the ladder shifts his weight beyond the center of gravity. In track guided ladders, whether they be provided with track engaging rollers or sliding guides, there is a necessary clearance between the track and the elements (rollers or sliding guides) to permit tilting of the ladder if the foot structure of the ladder does not eliminate this possibility. With rollers mounted at the foot of the ladder this possibility is not prevented but instead is aided thereby. The slide, with its ends projecting beyond the sides of the ladders, extends the width of the ladder support, enabling a workman on the ladder to shift his weight to either side without affecting or tending to tilt the ladder.

The embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is merely illustrative and may be widely modified and departed from in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as pointed out in and limited solely by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A track guided ladder having means mounted near the head thereof for riding on a track, and a horizontally extending slide disposed beneath and secured to the foot of the ladder and extending beyond each side thereof to hold the ladder against movement when occupied and to slide on a surface when unoccupied.

2. A track guided ladder having means mounted near the head thereof for riding on a track, and a horizontally extending slide positioned beneath the foot of the ladder and having uprights fixed to theslide for rigidly connecting the slide to the ladder.

3. A track guided ladder having means mounted near the head thereof for riding on a track, and a horizontally extending slide positioned beneath the foot of the ladder and having upwardly bent edges and uprights, and means connect ing the uprights to the ladder.

4. A track guided ladder having means mounted near the head thereof for riding on a track, and a slide having a horizontal portion positioned beneath the foot of the ladder and having upright portions, the slide also having end and side portions projecting upwardly at angles from the horizontal portion for free sliding of the ladder when unoccupied, and means to secure the upright portions to the foot of the ladder.

SHRYOC-K P. MoDANIELS. 

